Marcos vetoes 3 provisions in 2023 nat’l budget

FILE: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (center) signs the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2023 amounting to PHP5.268 trillion in a ceremony at the Malacañan Palace on Friday (Dec. 16, 2022). (PNA photo by Rolando Mailo)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has vetoed three provisions in the PHP5.268 trillion national budget for 2023.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Malacañang said these were provisions that grant authority to a commission of the Department of Labor and Employment to use its income and provisions authorizing the Office of the Secretary (OSEC) of both the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Tourism (DOT) to establish a revolving fund and prohibit the use of funds to change the tourism campaign slogan, respectively.

“Among those vetoed by the President are the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), Special Provision No. 1, ‘Use of Income,’ Volume 1-A, Page 1157,” Malacañang said.

Marcos said the subject income “already forms part of the revenue and financing sources of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 National Expenditure Program.”

Citing Section 65 of Presidential Decree (PD) 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, he said unless otherwise specifically provided by law, income accruing to the agencies by virtue of the provisions of the law, orders, and regulations “shall be deposited in the National Treasury or in any duly authorized government depository and shall accrue to the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund of the government.”

He cited Section 66 of PD 1445 and Section 45, Chapter 5, Book VI of Executive Order (EO) 292, which prescribes that “receipts shall be recorded as income of Special, Fiduciary or Trust Funds or Funds other than the General Fund only when authorized by law.”

“It is noteworthy, the President said, that the NLRC is not granted authority to use its income under existing laws,” the Palace said. “Further, the funding requirements for the operations of the NLRC are already fully provided under its budget under this Act.”

Marcos also vetoed the DepEd-OSEC, Special Provision No. 4, “Revolving Fund of DepEd TV”, Volume I-A, Page 197 because “there is no law authorizing the DepEd to establish a revolving fund.”

He noted that DepEd TV “is not a business-type activity of the DepEd.”

Only business-type activities may be permitted to use a revolving fund under the General Provision on Revolving Funds in the FY 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The last item vetoed by Marcos is the proviso “in no case shall the appropriations be utilized to change the tourism campaign slogan” under DOT-OSEC, Special Provision No. 4, “Branding Campaign Program,” Volume I-B, page 313 as it limits the exercise of the functions of the Executive Branch in implementing RA 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009.

Under RA 9593, the DOT is mandated to be the primary planning, programming, coordinating, implementing, and regulatory government agency in the development and promotion of the tourism industry, both domestically and globally.

It is tasked to promote tourism as an engine of socioeconomic and cultural growth in the country.

Malacañang has yet to release a copy of Marcos’ veto message.

Last week, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Marcos would veto two to three items in the 2023 national budget.